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INVESTIGATING THE PREFERENTIAL DISSOLUTION OF LEAD FROM SOLDER PARTICULATES
Citation:
Lytle*, D A., M R. Schock*, N. R. Dues*, AND P J. Clark*. INVESTIGATING THE PREFERENTIAL DISSOLUTION OF LEAD FROM SOLDER PARTICULATES. M. Lacey (ed.), JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION. AWWA Internet, Denver, CO, 85(7):104-110, (1993).
Impact/Purpose:
publish information
Description:
During a building corrosion control study, bottles containing acid-preserved water samples with high levels of lead often had particulate material on the bottom. Scanning electron microscope analysis of the particles showed the presence of tin and the absence of lead, indicating preferential dissolution of lead phases from the lead-tin solder by the acid preservative. A leaching study was done to investigate the effectiveness of the standard 0.15 percent nitric acid preservation procedure for dissolving lead corrosion by-products. Results indicate that the technique was adequate for dissolving lead from lead-tin solder particles but not for tin. Two findings of considerable importance to drinking water corrosion studies and monitoring programs emerged. First, both the field and laboratory data indicate that lead and lead-containing particles are completely dissolved by the standard preservation technique. Second, the study suggests that the standard acidification procedure should give essentially the same concentration results as hot acid digestion for virtually all important lead sources in drinking water, reducing the need to burden small laboratories and utilities with complicated procedures that introduce sample-handling variability, additional potential sources of contamination, and additional safety concerns.
